The New Guard: Matt Rales

Matt Rales

Founder, Grassential Farm

Matt Rales is one of the few people who can speak energetically and enthusiastically about subjects such as grass, manure, and animal husbandry. He has a passion for humane and eco-friendly conditions and grass-fed, free-range livestock that has turned Grassential, his “suburban farm” in Potomac, into the meat purveyor du jour for some of DC’s hottest restaurants, from Restaurant Eve to Komi to Marcel’s.

An alum of the progressive Polyface farm in Swoope, Virginia, the young farmer/environmentalist goes well beyond raising grass-fed animals. He’s a leader in the local movement to build up the grass and the land themselves for the healthiest—and most productive—ecosystem possible.